Transportation System

ABSTRACT

A transport installation has at least one rail, on which transport carriages are able to be transported by at least one trolley, and on at least one side has a guide arrangement which stabilizes the state and position of the transport carriage above the rail. A drive unit with several runners is provided in the trolleys of the transport carriages, which drive unit is able to be swivelled about the axis of the rail with respect to the trolley. The rail bifurcates into two rail branches. In the region of the bifurcation, grooves can be formed on the upper surface of the rails and rail branches. The pivoting angle and angle coverage of the drive unit and depth of the grooves are greatly reduced.

The invention relates to a transport installation with at least one rail and with at least one transport carriage which is movable on the rail by means of at least one trolley.

Transport systems, particularly monorail transport systems for people or goods are known in various embodiments.

These embodiments include installations in which transport carriages are movable suspended along the rail (AT 410 108 B. EP 1 299 276 A, DE 42 01 468 A). Installations are also known in which transport carriages travel on the rail, such as for example magnetic aerial railways. Further fields of application of monorail transport installations are to be found in amusement parks and as transport installations for materials in factories.

Despite several favourable characteristics, monorail transport installations have scarcely been able to become accepted compared with conventional rail installations. A reason for this is that hitherto few simple and reliable solutions have been proposed to implement a bifurcation (switch point) of the rails.

AT 410 108 B contains a first proposal of a bifurcation with the use of tubular support rails which does not contain any mechanical parts of any sort. The proposed bifurcation can preferably be used for overhead conveyors. However, it has the disadvantage that before and after the bifurcation, entirely self-supporting lengths of rail are necessary, so that the trolley can be swivelled. This greatly restricts the maximum speed which can be reached for travelling over bifurcations, and namely also for the straight branches of bifurcations. Furthermore, this restriction makes it difficult to bring about the support construction and increases the space which is required for the system.

The invention is based on the problem of proposing a transport installation of the type initially mentioned, in which bifurcations (forks, switch points) are produced without moving parts and the disadvantages of the known installations are avoided.

This problem is solved according to the invention by the features of claim 1.

Preferred and advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the sub-claims.

In the transport installation proposed according to the invention, transport carriages, preferably equipped with a transport drive, are able to be moved by means of trolleys on support rails which are preferably cylindrical (in particular substantially circular in cross-section) and which are constructed as straight or curved bars or tubes which can be fastened to the ground or to a support structure.

In addition to the support rail, a guide arrangement is provided, consisting for example of at least one guide rail constructed from tubes or bars, which holds the trolley and the carriage situated thereon, in order to prevent it from tilting.

In the transport installation according to the invention, bifurcations are formed in that the rail divides into two rail branches in the region of a bifurcation or fork, in which in the region of the bifurcation the preferably circular cross-sectional shape is retained of the two rail branches which run apart in the region of the bifurcation, or in a possible embodiment is only slightly reduced by (small) grooves. The grooves can generally be provided on the upper side of the rail branches in the region of the bifurcation in the direction of the longitudinal extent of the two rail branches, and can meet in the wedge of the bifurcation. The grooves facilitate the guidance of the respectively upper wheel in the swivelled state of the trolley over the bifurcation and form between them a narrowing rib, the side surfaces of which are parts of the outer contour of the rail branches leading away from the bifurcation.

With the embodiment of the bifurcation according to the invention, symmetrical bifurcations and asymmetrical bifurcations, i.e. right and left switch points, can be formed.

In one example embodiment, transport carriages used within the scope of the invention have at least one trolley which only partially embraces the rail and is guided thereon for example by means of at least two rollers. These rollers are preferably arranged here at an angular distance of between 90° and 120° from each other. In practical embodiments, preferably every two rollers are arranged one behind the other, in order to achieve a good running characteristic of the trolley.

In addition, in the transport installation according to the invention in one example embodiment a part of the trolley, which is designated hereinbelow as the drive unit, is rotatable with respect to the transport carriage about an axis which coincides with the axis of the rail. In normal travel operation, this allows the drive unit to be oriented pointing upwards for example, or to be rotated so that either the left or right roller, when travelling over a bifurcation, travels on the upper side of the bifurcation or through the groove which is provided. By rotating the drive unit, the possibility exists for determining, in bifurcations which are constructed as described above, which rail branch originating from the bifurcation the transport carriage is following. This is always the rail branch of the bifurcating rail on which the downwardly swivelled roller is guided. If no grooves are present, then the drive unit is swivelled to such an extent that the runner, on travelling over the outgoing rail branch is not raised upwards in an undue manner. The upper wheel of the drive unit can be swivelled here into the vertical position or even beyond this.

If the sum of the half angle range which the drive unit occupies and the pivoting angle from the neutral position into the position which is required for travelling over a switch point is less than 180°, then space is also available for the arrangement of supports of the support tube in the region of the bifurcation.

A transport installation is therefore provided by the invention, in which by rotating the drive unit one can determine on which rail branch, originating from a bifurcation, the transport carriage is travelling when it travels over a bifurcation, without also even only one movable part being provided in the region of the bifurcation. It is sufficient to rotate the drive unit so that it, and therefore the transport carriage, moves onto the respectively selected rail branch of the rail bifurcation. In addition, the support rail can be supported below at any point; the construction is therefore exclusively determined by the static conditions.

The rotating of the drive unit can take place for example by a motor drive in the trolley or by deflecting (tilting) the runners. Both methods can also be used in combination.

The invention is suited in particular for monorail transport installations in which the transport carriages travel on, i.e. above, the rail. The drive unit can be guided on the rail in any desired manner per se. Rollers, sliders or suchlike can be provided as guiding means. However, it is also possible to guide the drive unit on the rail by magnetic forces.

As the round support tube (rail) does not permit any stabilizing of the position of the transport carriage, in this embodiment with (circular) round rail cross-sections a guide arrangement is provided according to the invention which always holds the transport carriage (in a vertical position) above the rail. This guide arrangement is provided on at least one side of the transport carriage. The position stabilization can preferably likewise be achieved by runners, but also by magnetic forces. With the use of runners, preferably of elastic material, it is possible to use a pair of rollers, the distance of which can be altered transversely to the axial direction of the guide rail. The two runners can therefore securely embrace the rail by reducing their distance and can completely fix the position of the transport carriage. It may be necessary, in the region of bifurcations, to mount the guide rail on both sides of the rail or rail branches, or to change the side on which it is mounted.

By increasing the distance, the connection can be loosened, in order to free it, and also a run-in region can be produced, in order to introduce a guide rail between the rollers and to then fix the guide by reducing the distance of the rollers. The alteration of the distance can be achieved for example by rotating a fork at which the guide rollers are mounted.

The guide rail ensures on the one hand that the transport carriage is held above the support rail. In addition, it ensures a lateral guidance which is helpful in particular in embodiments of the invention without grooves in the support rail, to stabilize the transport carriage laterally. Furthermore, it allows the carriage to be guided in curves in a specific inclined position, in order to balance out centrifugal forces. Higher speeds of travel or a higher degree of travel comfort for the occupants are thereby possible.

The drive of the transport carriage, as an alternative to the roller drive on the support rail can also be formed by a drive on the guide rail. In particular, the use of linear motors as drive systems both on the support rail and also on the guide rail is also possible.

Further details, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred example embodiments with the aid of the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows in top view a non-symmetrical bifurcation,

FIG. 2 shows a section along the line A-A in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows a symmetrical bifurcation,

FIG. 4 shows a section along the line B-B in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 shows a non-symmetrical bifurcation in an embodiment without grooves,

FIG. 6 shows a section along the line C-C in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 shows a symmetrical bifurcation in an embodiment without grooves in the rails or rail branches,

FIG. 8 shows a section along the line D-D in FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 shows a swivellable output unit,

FIG. 10 shows the drive unit of FIG. 9 in swivelled state,

FIG. 11 shows a swivelled drive unit in an embodiment with rails or rail branches without grooves,

FIG. 12 shows a swivelled drive unit for an embodiment with rails or rail branches without grooves,

FIG. 13 shows a transport carriage,

FIG. 14 shows a transport carriage on travelling over a non-symmetrical bifurcation,

FIG. 15 shows a transport carriage on travelling over a bifurcation,

FIG. 16 shows a transport carriage on travelling over a bifurcation,

FIG. 17 shows guide elements with an opened clamp,

FIG. 18 shows guide elements with a closed clamp and

FIG. 19 shows three transport carriages in the region of a non-symmetrical bifurcation.

FIG. 1 shows a bifurcation (“switch point”) according to the invention, formed as a non-symmetrical switch point, and FIG. 3 shows a symmetrical switch point with grooves 3. The support rail 1 branches into a straight and a bent rail branch 2. It can be seen by means of the sectional drawings (FIGS. 2 and 4) that grooves 3 are only arranged on the upper side of the rails 1 and rail branches 2. A rib 4, narrowing towards the wedge between the rail branches 2, forms between the grooves 3, said rib 4, in so far as is possible, continuing the circular outer contour of the rails 1 as a running surface.

FIG. 5 to 8 show bifurcations (“switch points”) according to the invention, formed as a non-symmetrical switch point (FIG. 5) and symmetrical switch point (FIG. 7) without grooves in rails 1 and rail branches 2.

In FIG. 9 it is shown that a swivelled drive unit 6, part of the trolley which is not shown in FIG. 2, guides the trolley and a transport carriage mounted thereon along the upper side of the support rail 1 with at least two rollers 5. The rollers 5 of the drive unit 6 have an angle of approximately 120° to each other. Through this angle, the possible traction of the rollers 5 on the support rail 1 is increased. The entire drive unit 6 covers an angle range δ, which was selected here to be somewhat below 180°. In the region of bifurcations (FIG. 7) the drive unit 6 is swivelled through the pivoting angle δ about the axis of the support rail 1 (FIG. 10). The pivoting angle σ is selected so that the upper roller 5 is moved through the associated groove 3 on travelling over the switch point. As long as δ/2+σ is <180°, the support rail 1 can be supported from below in any state and position of the drive unit 6, i.e. also in the region of switch points. The state of the drive unit 6 which is shown in the drawing brings about a travel over the straight branch of the switch point. The drive unit 6 will usually be equipped respectively with two rollers 6 lying one behind the other.

FIG. 4 shows the swivelling of the drive unit 6 with bifurcations without grooves 3 in the rails 1 and rail branches 2. Generally, the pivoting angle σ is selected to be greater here than when grooves 3 are present. In FIG. 11 the pivoting angle σ was selected to be so great that the roller 5 was swivelled out completely from the region of the right-hand outgoing rail branch 2. The transport carriage can therefore pass the switch point entirely on the cylindrical surface, i.e. without any unevenness. In this case, the position (lateral stability) of the transport carriage will be ensured by means of a guide arrangement (guide rail), in order to prevent the transport carriage from slipping off from the rail 1.

In FIG. 12 the drive unit 6 was swivelled somewhat less far. Cylindrical elastic rollers 5 are used, which adapt themselves to the cross-section of the rail 1 and of the rail branches 2 owing to their elasticity. On travelling over the right-hand outgoing rail branch 2, the latter will squeeze the roller 5, specifically on the right-hand side, somewhat more strongly and thereby a slight unevenness will become perceptible. In this case, also, the increase in the lateral stability of the transport carriage through the guide rail is advantageous. By a suitable choice of the pivoting angle, the elasticity of the rollers 5 and the size of the grooves 3, the behaviour when travelling over the bifurcations can be optimized.

FIG. 13 shows the transport carriage 8 on the trolley 7 and also the support- and guide elements. The trolley 7 and the drive unit 6 are connected with each other so as to be rotatable relative to each other, the rotation axis ideally being the axis of the rail 1 (support tube). One or two drive units 6 may be provided. In the case of two drive units 6, these are mounted as bogies in order to ensure guidance through curves of the rail 1 (not shown in the drawing). In the drawing, the carriage is held exclusively by the right-hand guide rail 9 and by means of two guide rollers 10 acting as displaceable clamps.

In FIG. 14, travel over a non-symmetrical switch point is illustrated with rail 1 and rail branch 2. The drive unit 6 is rotated toward the left, so that the transport carriage 8 travels along the straight branch of the switch point. In the situation shown in the drawing, it is held by the right-hand and the left-hand guide rail 9.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show further situations of travel over a switch point. FIG. 15 shows travel over a symmetrical switch point and FIG. 16 shows travel over the curved rail branch 2 of a non-symmetrical switch point.

FIG. 17 shows the guide elements 10, formed here as rollers. The opening of the clamp (FIG. 17) brings about a run-in which allows tolerances in the position of the guide rail 9. By closing the clamp (FIG. 18), the rollers 10 are pressed against the guide rail 9 and the position of the transport carriage 8 is fixed. The opening and closing of the clamp can be achieved for example by rotation of the roller suspension or by translatory movement of the rollers.

FIG. 19 shows diagrammatically the travel positions of three transport carriages 8 on the support rail 1; the travel direction is assumed to be in the direction of the arrow. The left-hand carriage 8 in FIG. 19 has swivelled the drive unit 6 for travel over the switch point at the straight rail branch 2 and is already situated in the region of the bifurcation in which guide rails 9 are mounted on both sides of the support rail 1. It holds the upper clamp 10 closed and the lower clamp open during the entire travel over the switch point. The central carriage 8 in FIG. 19 is situated exactly on the bifurcation of the curved, right-hand rail branch 2. It has swivelled the drive unit 6 accordingly and has closed the lower clamp shortly before the switch point, and thereafter opened the upper one. The right-hand carriage 8 in FIG. 19 has already traveled over the switch point and has swivelled the drive unit 6 back into the normal position.

To sum up, an example embodiment of the invention can be described as follows:

A transport installation has at least one rail 1, preferably on the ground or suspended on a self-supporting framework, on which rail 1 transport carriages 8 are able to be transported by means of at least one trolley 7, and on at least one side has a guide arrangement 9, 10 which stabilizes the state and position of the transport carriage 8 above the rail 1, 2. A drive unit 6 with several runners 5 is provided in the trolleys 7 of the transport carriages 8, which drive unit is able to be swivelled about the axis of the rail 1 with respect to the trolley 7.

Bifurcations are provided in the rail 1, in which the rail 1 bifurcates into two rail branches 2. In the region of the bifurcation, grooves 3 can be formed on the upper surface of the rails 1 and rail branches 2. The pivoting angle α and angle coverage 8 of the drive unit 6 and depth of the grooves 3, when they are present, are greatly reduced compared with previous solutions. The support rail 1 can thereby also be supported at bifurcations below, and the travelling over switch points is facilitated. The rotating of the drive unit 6 with respect to the trolley 7, which determines the direction of travel at the switch point, can take place over a greater length range and therefore at a higher speed of travel.

To sum up, an example embodiment of the invention can be illustrated as follows:

A transport installation has at least one rail 1, preferably on the ground or suspended on a self-supporting framework, on which rail 1 transport carriages 8 are able to be transported by means of at least one trolley 7, and on at least one side has a guide arrangement 9, 10 which stabilizes the state and position of the transport carriage 8 above the rail 1, 2. A drive unit 6 with several runners 5 is provided in the trolleys 7 of the transport carriages 8, which drive unit is able to be swivelled about the axis of the rail 1 with respect to the trolley 7.

Bifurcations are provided in the rail 1, in which the rail, 1 bifurcates into two rail branches 2. In the region of the bifurcation, grooves 3 can be formed on the upper surface of the rails 1 and rail branches 2. The pivoting angle σ and angle coverage 6 of the drive unit 6 and depth of the grooves 3, when they are present, are greatly reduced compared with previous solutions. The support rail 1 can thereby also be supported at bifurcations below, and the travelling over switch points is facilitated. The rotating of the drive unit 6 with respect to the trolley 7, which determines the direction of travel at the switch point, can take place over a greater length range and therefore at a higher speed of travel. 

1. A transport installation with at least one rail (1) and with at least one transport carriage (8) which is movable on the rail (1) by means of at least one trolley (7), characterized in that a drive unit (6) of the trolley (7) rests on the rail (1) and is guided on it, that the drive unit (6) is swivellable with respect to the trolley (7) about the axis of the rail (1), that at least one guide arrangement (9, 10) is provided which stabilizes the position of the transport carriage (8) above the rail (1), and that in the rail (1) at least one bifurcation is provided in which the rail (1) divides into two rail branches (2).
 2. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that in the region of the bifurcation, grooves (3) are provided at least on the upper side of the support rail (1), which grooves (3) terminate in the region of the wedge between the rail branches (2).
 3. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive unit (6) is guided by means of at least two rollers (5) on the rail (1, 2).
 4. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the sum of half the cover angle (δ) of the drive unit (6) and the pivoting angle (σ) for travel over bifurcations lies below 180°.
 5. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive unit (6), on travelling over a bifurcation (2), is rotated so that the upper roller (5) is moved through the groove (3) of the support rail (1) lying closer to the roller (5).
 6. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive unit (6), on travelling over a bifurcation (2), is rotated so that the upper roller (5) is swivelled completely out from the region of the outgoing rail branch (2).
 7. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive unit (6), on travelling over a bifurcation (2), is rotated so that the upper roller (5), on travelling over the outgoing rail branch, is squeezed in the region of the elastic deformation.
 8. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one roller (5) of the drive unit (6) is rotatably driven.
 9. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that a drive is provided for rotating the drive unit (6).
 10. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that a drive is provided for deflecting the rollers (5) of the drive unit (6).
 11. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide arrangement consists of a guide rail (9) which is guided laterally parallel to the support rail (1, 2), and of a clamp (10) which can be closed and opened, and in the closed state brings about a form-fitting stabilizing of the state and position of the transport carriage (8).
 12. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide rail (9) consists of a tubular cross-section and the clamp (10) consists of two rollers which are pressed from above and below onto the guide rail (9).
 13. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive of the transport carriage (8) is integrated into the guide arrangement (9, 10).
 14. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive of the transport carriage (8) takes place by a linear motor.
 15. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the support rail (1) has a circular cross-sectional shape.
 16. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the running surface of the rollers (5) is curved in a concave shape congruently to the outer contour of the rail (1).
 17. The transport installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the transport carriages (8) are provided with electrical energy and/or control data by means of conductor rails and contacts.
 18. The transport installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the drive unit (6) is guided by means of at least two rollers (5) on the rail (1, 2).
 19. The transport installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the sum of half the cover angle (δ) of the drive unit (6) and the pivoting angle (σ) for travel over bifurcations lies below 180°.
 20. The transport installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the drive unit (6), on travelling over a bifurcation (2), is rotated so that the upper roller (5) is moved through the groove (3) of the support rail (1) lying closer to the roller (5). 